Professor Amartya Sen, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics, presents the Year of India Keynote Address in a highly anticipated lecture entitled, Social Demands of Justice. (Click here to watch video)

As part of the premier public university in the most diverse county in America, and affirming our commitment to global education, Queens College offers cultural and academic programming focusing on a different nation each year.

For academic 2012-2013, we will concentrate on India, a vibrant, diverse country with a complex history and globally significant economy. Year of India will encompass a wide range of events, from student-sponsored activities on culture, sports, and daily life, to exhibitions, film screenings, and performances. Content-rich presentations will explore India—its society and politics, arts and culture, math and science, religions and economics—as well as its influence in the South Asian region and the world, and its diaspora in the United States. The year will also feature student and faculty exchanges, newly developed credit-bearing academic offerings, and programs of distinction by members of the Indian community who are making world-class contributions. To further established collaborations and partnerships, faculty will lead three study tours to India—two for Queens College students and one for faculty and staff. Visit our website for details throughout the Year.

​Art from the Land of the Peacock: Documents of Visual Culture in the Queens College Libraries

November 1, 2012-June 27, 2013

Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library

India's distinctive and diverse artistic traditions are spotlighted in this exhibition drawing upon the collections at QC's Art Library. What began as art produced either to glorify royalty or to embody spiritual expressions of the country's religions continues to reflect India's many rich cultural streams.

President James Musykens will escort new students through the "We Learn So That We May Serve" gates to the ebullient strains of the Red Baraat Indian bangra funk dhol and brass band, accompanied by traditionally dressed Indian dancers, before the official welcome on the campus main lawn in front of Alumni Plaza. The morning's festivities will include a Masala Bhangra Bollywood-style flash mob, led by fitness celebrity Sarina Jain, and performed by the new students.

Hosted by The Office of Student Life.

Deepak Chopra

Tuesday, September 11, 2012, 2 pm Student Union Ballroom

Renowned public speaker, writer, and physician, Deepak Chopra addresses QC students as part of the college's L.I.F.E. (Leadership is for Everyone) series. A recognized leader of the mind-body-spirit movement, Chopra is the co-founder of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing. He is also the author of more than 65 books, 19 of them New York Times bestsellers.

The community is welcome to attend.

Hosted by Student Development

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Representing South Asia on Film—Part 1

Sholay(Flames)

Wednesday, September 12, 2012, 4:30 pmGodwin-Ternbach Museum

After Amy Winter, director of the Godwin Ternbach, makes opening remarks about the museum's film series, QC history professor Satadru Sen will introduce Sholay (Flames), the top Hindi blockbuster of all time. An "eastern western" made in 1975, it tells the story of two gunslingers hired to protect a village from a vicious bandit.

Hosted by the Godwin-Ternbach Museum

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Representing South Asia on Film—Part 1

Wednesday, September 19, 2012, 4:30 pmGodwin-Ternbach Museum

Panel Discussion

There's more to India's image on film than mere entertainment.QC history professor Satadru Sen will moderate a panel focused on how these movies illuminate and challenge society. Dilip Menon (left), professor of history and Mellon Chair in Indian Studies at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, will focus on "Making a Song and Dance of It: Taking Bollywood Seriously." Jyotika Virdi, associate professor of communication, media, and film at the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, will discuss "Challenges and Resistance to the National Framework in Indian Cinema Studies."

A reception will follow the panel presentation.

Hosted by the Godwin-Ternbach Museum

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​Roundtable: Society and Politics

Wednesday, October 3, 2012, 12:15 pm (free hour)Campbell Dome

As India takes its place in the global economy, the country contends with myriad issues. This roundtable discussion addresses these challenges, which include reducing poverty, improving health care and education, strengthening democracy, ensuring women's greater participation and leadership, and developing more public-private partnerships for social delivery systems. The panel of distinguished experts include Shyama Venkateswar, director of research and programs, National Council for Research on Women; and Shikaripur N. Sridhar, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor, professor of linguistics and India studies at SUNY/Stony Brook.

Amy Winter, director of the Godwin-Ternbach Museum at QC, introduces Awaara (The Orphan), one of India's first movies to become a global success. Newly independent India's fledgling legal system is the focus of this 1951 courtroom drama, directed by the renowned actor Raj Kapoor. The film explores the ancient epic of the Ramayana through the story of a crusading woman lawyer and her love for a thief, the wayward son of a judge.

Hosted by the Godwin-Ternbach Museum

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​​Workout Wednesday

Wednesday, October 3, 2012, 5 pmPatio Room

Students are invited to participate in a weekly session of energetic, exuberant Masala Bhangra dance for an experiential encounter with the vibrant culture of India.

Hosted by Student Life

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​Ellora and Ajanta and the Spread of Religious Iconography Along the Silk Road

Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 12:00 pm Godwin-Ternbach Museum

France Pepper, founder and director of China Insider, a travel firm, explores the Silk Road's contributions to the dissemination and exchange of Buddhism between India and China. By providing a transit route for rituals, texts, iconography, architecture, and fundamental ideas, the Silk Road enabled Buddhism to spread across countries. Ellora and Ajanta, two significant rock-cut temples and sites of religious pilgrimage, were pivotal to this historical experience.

Hosted by the Godwin-Ternbach Museum

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​Representing South Asia on Film—Part 1

Lagaan(The Tax)

Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 4:30 pm

Godwin-Ternbach Museum

You don't have to be a fan of cricket to be entranced by Lagaan (The Tax). This classic sports film merges Bollywood with nationalism, in a compelling story that pits Indian peasants against British soldiers in a high-stakes game whose outcome transcends the ultimate score. QC History Professor Satadru Sen will introduce the movie.

Hosted by the Godwin-Ternbach Museum

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​​​​Workout Wednesday

Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 5 pmPatio Room

Students are invited to participate in a weekly session of energetic, exuberant Masala Bhangra dance for an experiential encounter with the vibrant culture of India.

Hosted by Student Life

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​Chamber Music Live

Hindustani Music of North India

Friday, October 12, 2012, 10 am

LeFrak Concert Hall

Chamber Music Live opens the 2012-2013 season with a program featuring the distinctive sounds of Northern India. Guest artists Steve Gorn, on bansuri flute, and Samir Chatterjee, a world-renowned tabla player and faculty member at Yale and the Manhattan School of Music, among others, perform traditional songs evoking the aural landscape of India.

Hosted by Aaron Copland School of Music

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​ATHLETIC EVENT

Cricket on the Quad

Monday, October 15, 2012, 3-6 pm, Quad

Cricket is to India as baseball is to the United States.

The popular sport is ubiquitous in India. No wonder the country's National Cricket Team won the 1983 Cricket World Cup, the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, and the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

For an authentic, hands-and-feet-on experience, join your fellow students, faculty, and members of the Queens College community for Cricket on the Quad. QC's resident experts, Merlin Thompson (Athletics) and Haiman Boxer (Security), will share their knowledge of the sport with an introduction to the game's tradition and history as well as a demonstration of proper form and techniques.

There'll be a special guest appearance by Andy Roberts, a former West Indian cricketer, with a co-ed student-faculty windfall cricket match. We'll provide equipment—and water.

Hosted by Queens College Athletics, Office of Campus and Community Recreation, and the Office of Global Education Initiatives

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​Representing South Asia on Film—Part 1

Shatranji ke Khiladi(The Chess Players)

Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 4:30 pm

Godwin-Ternbach Museum

Director Satyajit Ray's 1977 Shatranji ke Khiladi (The Chess Players) is a biting satire of a defining moment in Britain's conquest of India. Serinity Young, QC professor of Classical, Middle Eastern, and Asian Languages and Cultures, will introduce this acknowledged masterpiece depicting the intersections of political intrigue and social decadence.

Hosted by the Godwin-Ternbach Museum

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​Workout Wednesday

Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 5 pmPatio Room

Students are invited to participate in a weekly session of energetic, exuberant Masala Bhangra dance for an experiential encounter with the vibrant culture of India.

Hosted by Student Life

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​Representing South Asia on Film—Part 1

36 Chowringhee Lane

Wednesday, October 24, 2012, 4:30 pm

Godwin-Ternbach Museum

Serinity Young, adjunct assistant professor in QC's Department of Classical, Middle Eastern & Asian Languages & Cultures, introduces 36 Chowringhee Lane, a nuanced examination of complex class and intergenerational relations in India. In this 1981 film, Aparna Sen, one of her nation's first female movie directors, depicts how a young couple exploits their relationship with an isolated elderly Anglo-Indian woman to use her home as their illicit love nest.

Hosted by the Godwin-Ternbach Museum

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​Representing South Asia on Film—Part 1

Elippathayam(The Rat Trap)

Wednesday, October 31, 2012, 4:30 pm

Godwin-Ternbach Museum

QC history professor Satadru Sen introduces Elippathayam (The Rat Trap), an award-winning, critically acclaimed 1981 film that illuminates Kerala's feudal society as it shifts to a nationalist one. Written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan in Malayalam, one of India's official languages, the movie follows middle-aged protagonists—a man and his three sisters—as they struggle with their changing roles.

Hosted by the Godwin-Ternbach Museum

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​Frontiers of Indian Dance

Wednesday, November 7, 2012, 12:15 pm (free hour)

Campbell Dome

India's rapid sociocultural shifts are reflected in the changing role of dance. Pallabi Chakravorty, dance professor at Swarthmore College, discusses the history and contemporary significance of terpsichorean traditions in a country where reality television, YouTube, music videos, and Bollywood highlight classical and folk styles in new ways.

Students are invited to participate in a weekly session of energetic, exuberant Masala Bhangra dance for an experiential encounter with the vibrant culture of India.

Hosted by Student Life

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​Representing South Asia on Film—Part 1

Fear of FlyingLingering Twenty

Thursday, November 8, 2012, 4:30 pm

Godwin-Ternbach Museum

Satadru Sen of the Queens College History Department introduces two short films that share the theme of life under the threat of state violence. After the screening, Prof. Sen will moderate a panel discussion on the cultural politics of the national security state. The featured films are Fear of Flying (2005) and Lingering Twenty (2004), two projects by Visible Collective, a coalition of artists, educators, and activists. Panel participants include Visible Collective member Uzma Rizvi, assistant professor of social science and cultural studies at Pratt Institute, and documentary filmmaker Prerana Reddy, Douglas Redd Ford Foundation Fellow, Queens Museum of Art.

Hosted by the Godwin-Ternbach Museum

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​Workout Wednesday

Wednesday November 14, 2012, 5 pmPatio Room

Students are invited to participate in a weekly session of energetic, exuberant Masala Bhangra dance for an experiential encounter with the vibrant culture of India.

Hosted by Student Life

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​Workout Wednesday

Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 5 pmPatio Room

Students are invited to participate in a weekly session of energetic, exuberant Masala Bhangra dance for an experiential encounter with the vibrant culture of India.

Hosted by Student Life

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​Math and Science Panel

Wednesday, December 5, 2012, 12:15-1:30 pm Campbell Dome

At this event, four distinguished experts discuss modern India's approach to science and technology. Satadru Sen, associate professor of history at QC, presents the Science of Nationhood: Science, Technology and Being Modern in India. Free Software, 'Appropriate Technology' and the Information Technology Revolution in India is the subject of a talk by Samir Chopra, professor of philosophy at the Graduate Center and Brooklyn College of CUNY. Sameer Kwatra, senior analyst in the buildings program of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, explores Energy for Sustainable Development in India. QC's Murphy Halliburton, associate professor of anthropology, offers insights into Ayurveda: A Science of Medicine in India.

Hosted by Larry Liebovitch, dean of QC's Division of Mathematics and the Natural Sciences

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​Representing South Asia on Film—Part 1

The Namesake

Wednesday, December 5, 4:30 pm Godwin-Ternbach Museum

Madhulika Khandelwal, director of QC's Asian/American Center, introduces The Namesake, a critically acclaimed movie based on the novel of the same name by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri. The poignant story confronts issues of loss, love, and dislocation that surround immigration in the Indian diaspora. A roundtable discussion follows the screening.

Hosted by the Godwin-Ternbach Museum

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​Workout Wednesday

Wednesday, December 5, 2012, 5 pmPatio Room

Students are invited to participate in a weekly session of energetic, exuberant Masala Bhangra dance for an experiential encounter with the vibrant culture of India.

Hosted by Student Life

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​Portraits of India

Religions of India

January 1-23, 2013

During Winter Session, QC is offering a pair of three-credit courses in India.

Portraits of India, based in New Delhi, will be led by Rikki Asher, director of art education at QC. Participants will experience ancient temples and traditional Indian art and architecture while living in one of the world's most vibrant modern cities. Students also will have the opportunity to visit a rural village and meet local students and teachers in the Pardada Pardadi Vocational School for Girls. Excursions will include trips to the Taj Mahal, one of the unique wonders of the world, and the city of Anupshahar, in Utter Pradesh.

Religions of India, led by Serinity Young, QC Department of Classical, Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures, will explore the major religious traditions of India—Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism—through their sacred cities, monuments, archaeological sites, texts, iconography, performances, and rituals. The journey begins in New Delhi, before continuing on to the ancient holy city of Varanasi/Benares and the village of Sarnath, where the Buddha preached his first sermon. The Sarnath experience includes a stay in a Buddhist monastery and the opportunity to engage with Buddhist teachers and pilgrims from around the world. The last stop will be Mumbai (Bombay), a multicultural city by the sea. Side trips will include the Taj Mahal, the island of Elephanta, and the Jama Masjid Mosque. Additional sessions will encompass Christianity (believed to have been brought to Kerala in South India by the Apostle Thomas), Judaism (established in India through several migrations that began circa 500 BCE), and Zoroastrianism (introduced to India through migration in the 10th century CE).

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​Master Class: Doing Business in India

January 7-11, 2013

Doing Business in India provides an overview of the Indian economy. This one-credit course looks at the successes and challenges India faces as it moves from a developing nation to one with a resilient, growing economy. Topics include business etiquette and culture within the context of Indian traditions and society; service industries; India's appeal as an investment destination; the country's evolution from an agricultural society to a modern, capitalist one; rural marketing; the role of multinationals; and how entrepreneurship works in India's dynamic marketplace. Students who complete the course receive a certificate.

This course will be taught by two faculty members from the economics department of the H.R. College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai: Lavanya Rekha Bahadur, vice principal and director of student affairs, and Jehangir Bharucha, director of postgraduate studies and associate professor.

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​The Religions of India

Wednesday, February ​6, 2013, 12:15-1:30 pm (free hour)Campbell Dome

The diversity of India's religious traditions infuse nearly every aspect of life, from culture and arts to politics and social organization. Philosophical, anthropological and close textual studies will inform this roundtable discussion focusing on Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Sikhism; topics include the naming of religions, similarities and differences between religions, and religious boundaries (whether through their presence or absence).

Serinity Young, adjunct assistant professor in QC's Department of Classical, Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures, introduces The Cup, a 1999 film depicting the efforts of young Tibetan monks to find a television set, so they can watch World Cup soccer. At this event, William McClure, QC Dean of Arts and Humanities and a profe​ssor in the Department of Classical, Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures, will announce QC's new minor in Himalayan studies.

Hosted by the Godwin-Ternbach Museum

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​Representing South Asia on Film—Part II

Aparajito

Wednesday, February 13, 2013, 4:30 pm

Godwin-Ternbach Museum

Amy Winter, director of QC's​ Godwin-Ternbach Musuem, introduces one of the most celebrated films of the Parallel Cinema movement, Aparajito. The second in the Apu Trilogy directed by acclaimed filmmaker Satyajit Ray, it follows Apu as he leaves home for school, experiencing the tensions between his family ties and the freedoms of a world in social change. Aparajito is based on fiction by renowned Bengali writer Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay and features an original score by Ravi Shankar.

Hosted by the Godwin-Ternbach Museum

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​Chaturang

Traditional Dances of India

Thursday, February 14, 2013, 10:30 amColden Auditor​ium

​Experience a unique presentation of four distinctive types of Indian dance, exemplifying the meaning of the Hindi word chaturang, "four colors." Ranging from traditional classical disciplines to folk idioms, the program includes Baratnatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi and Odissi styles, which express dramatic stories through specific hand gestures, facial expressions, and rhythmic footwork. The event, design​ed for students in grades 3 through 12, features both live and recorded music on traditional instruments. Free study guides are available for students and teachers.​

The artists include Bala Devi Chandrashekar, for the Baratnatyam dance; Jayant Kastuar and musicians, direct from India, for Kathak; Mukthambar Fine Arts, Inc., for Kuchipudi; and Bani Ray, for Odissi.

Beginning dance students and the entire college community are invited to participate in Kathak master classes led by visiting artist Jayant Kastuar. A renowned exponent of the Kathak style, Kastuar is a performer, choreographer, festival and set designer, as well as a lecturer on traditional Indian dance. Kastuar's musicians will accompany both sessions.

Experience a unique presentation of four distinctive types of Indian dance, exemplifying the meaning of the Hindi word chaturang, "four colors." Ranging from traditional classical disciplines to folk idioms, the program includes Baratnatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi and Odissi styles, which express dramatic stories through specific hand gestures, facial expressions, and rhythmic footwork. The event features both live and recorded music on traditional instruments. Ra​ngoli and Mehndi activities will take place before the performance.

The artists include Bala Devi Chandrashekar, for the Baratnatyam dance; Jayant Kastuar and musicians, direct from India, for Kathak; Mukthambar Fine Arts, Inc., for Kuchipudi; and Bani Ray, for Odissi.

Tickets: $20 adults, $12 children ages 12 and under

Box Office: 718-793-8080

Hosted by Kupferberg Center Performances

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​Representing South Asia on Film—Part II

Ekdin Pratidin (A Day Like Any Other)

Wednesday, February 20, 2013, 4:30 pm Godwin-Ternbach Museum

Serinity Young, adjunct assistant professor in QC's Department of Classical, Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures, introduces the 1979 film, Ekdin Pratidin (A Day Like Any Other). Directed by Mrinal Sen, the movie illuminates one day in the life of a lower-middle-class family in Calcutta. When the daughter, whose income supports the family, fails to return home from work, both anxiety and imagination run wild.

Experience the pedagogical uses of games and simulations while learning about a critical moment in Indian history. The Office of Global Education Initiatives, the Center for Teaching and Learning, and Queens College members of the Reacting to the Past community cordially invite you to participate in Defining a Nation: India on​ the Eve of Independence, 1945. The workshop is open to QC faculty and staff as well as educators from other institutions.

Helen Gaudette, QC history professor and director of the Office of Global Education Initiatives, will lead the game.

Serinity Young, adjunct assistant professor in QC's Department of Classical, Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures, introduces Shyam Benegal's 1977 film, Junoon (Obsession). This dramatic movie, regarded as one of the best to emerge from the Parallel Cinema movement of the 1970s and 1980s, examines provocative issues of race, war and colonialism through the lens of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny. Benegal explores what happens after a Eurasian family is kidnapped during that mutiny—and one of the kidnappers becomes infatuated with the family's younger daughter.

Hosted by the Godwin-Ternbach Museum

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​Exploring Amartya Sen's Book, "The Idea of Justice"

Monday, March 4, 12:15-1:30 pm

Location: Powdermaker Hall, room 154​

Shyama Venkateswar will lead a discussion group, open to the entire Queens College community, onThe Idea of Justice, the seminal work by Year of India keynote speaker Amartya Sen. The conversation will focus on such compelling questions as ‘What is justice?’ and ‘Has the ideal of creating a perfectly just society eclipsed our ability to judge ways to reduce injustice?’ Venkateswar will also examine Sen’s notions of relative justice—that is, seeing justice in compa​rative terms, which allows us to assess institutions and social arrangements across the world for their contribution to the equality, well-being, and freedom of individuals.

A fellow at the National Co​uncil for Research on Women, Venkateswar focuses on gender equality, women’s leadership, poverty and social justice in both India and the United States. Previously she served as the council’s director of research and programs. A native of Calcutta, she holds a PhD in political science from Columbia University.

India is expanding into the global marketplace. Two experts—Sanjay Reddy, associate professor of economics at The New School, and Edwin Dickens, associate professor and chair of the Department of Economics and Finance at St. Peter's College—share their perspective on an emerging economic power.

Amartya Sen, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics, will present the Year of India Keynote Address in a highly anticipated lecture.

Sen is the Thomas W. Lamont University Professor, and Professor of Economics and Philosophy, at Harvard University. Until 2004, he was the master of Trinity College, Cambridge University, in England. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages; his most recent work is The Idea of Justice. Among his many professional accomplishments, Sen has served as president of the Econometric Society, the American Economic Association, and the International Economic Association. In addition to the Nobel, he has received the Bharat Ratna (the highest honor awarded by the president of India); the Agnelli International Prize in Ethics; the Edinburgh Medal; Brazil’s Ordem Nacional do Merito Cientifico; the Eisenhower ​Medal; the Legion of Honour (France); Honorary Companion of Honour (UK); and the George C. Marshall Award (US).

Carl Riskin, Distinguished Professor of Economics at Queens College, will serve as host.

At the conclusion of his talk, Sen will engage in a brief discussion with Sanjay Reddy, Associate Professor of Economics at The New School, and then take questions from the audience.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013, 4:30 pm Godwin-Ternbach Museum​Anupama Kapse, assistant professor in QC's Department of Media Studies, introduces Devdas, a 2002 film by director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Based on the 1917 book of the same name by legendary Bengali novelist Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay, this popular and lavishly produced Bollywood movie examines the repercussions of thwarted love.

Hosted by the Godwin-Ternbach Museum

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​An Evening of Persian Music: A Page out of the 1001 Nights

Thursday, April 4, 7-9 pmGodwin-Ternbach Museum

Celebrated classical santourist Pouri Anavian will perform traditional Isafahan and Mahur music with Esmaeil Tehrani and Mai Kawamura on tombak.

Cost: $25

​​For more information and to purchase tickets, please call 718-997-4724 or email gtmuseum@qc.cuny.edu

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​What Do the Hindu Gods Look Like Now?

Wednesday, April 10, 2013, 12:15-1:30 pm (free hour)

Campbell Dome

Richard H. Davis, professor in the religion and Asian studies programs​ at Bard College, examines the impact of modern technology on the production and dissemination of Hindu religious images. Rep​resentations of deities are central to Hindu practice; evolution in printing methods and the ability to popularize mass images has had a profound effect over the last 150 years. Davis will illustrate some of the ways that modern religious prints represent the Hindu gods.

Hosted by James Stellar, QC provost and vice president of academic affairs

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​Justice, Women, and Violence: An Honest Conversation

Tuesday, April 16, 2013, 6:30 pm

Rosenthal Library, Room 230

The world was appalled to hear about a young woman who was gang-raped on a New Delhi bus, suffering injuries that killed her within days. This event will serve as a departure point for a broader discussion of women and violence. Participants will explore this issue through the lenses of research, policy, media, community, and campus activism. Moderated by Sophia McGee, program manager for QC’s Center for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding, the panel includes its organizer, Shyama Venkateswar, a fellow with the National Council for Research on Women; Renee Lobo, journalist and community activist; Robina Niaz, executive director of Turning Point for Women and Families; and Noam Parness, president of QC’s Gay, Lesbian and Straight Alliance.

Hosted by the Center for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding

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​Watercolors of India

April 16, 2013, 5:30 pmGodwin-Ternbach Museum

Neill Slaughter, professor of fine arts at Long Island University, will discuss the drawings and paintings he produced during a Fulbright Fellowship in India. Traveling throughout the country, he explored cultural and environmental themes reflecting the human condition. His watercolors are displayed in the Godwin-Ternbach Museum's lobby gallery as part of the Year of India.

Hosted by Godwin-Ternbach Museum​ ​

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​Representing South Asia on Film—Part II

Nayakan (The Hero)

Wednesday, April 17, 2013, 4:30 pm Godwin-Ternbach Museum

Anupama Kapse, assistant professor in QC's Department of Media Studies, introduces Nayakan (The Hero). This 1987 film, directed by Mani Ratnam, is a gangster classic of Tamil cinema about a boy who sees his father gunned down by a policeman. The movie explores themes of revenge and justice.

Hosted by the Godwin-Ternbach Museum

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​India in Queens

Wednesday, April 17, 2013, 12:15-1:30 pmStudent Union Ballroom

India’s rich culture and heritage contribute to the celebrated diversity of the borough of Queens. Madhulika Khandelwal, director of the Asian/American Center, will moderate a panel of faculty and students exploring their connections to India within the college community. Speakers are Anupama Kapse, Department of Media Studies; Sunitha Jasti, Department of Family, Nutrition, and

Exercise Sciences; Bette Weidman, Department of English; Murphy Halliburton, Department of Anthropology; and Salimah Khoja, president of the Queens College Indian

Club and editor of the Knight News.

Hosted by the Queens College Indian Club and the Asian/American Center

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​Representing South Asia on Film—Part II

Clothing, Dress and Fashion in Indian Cinema

Wednesday, April 24, 2013, 4:30 pm Godwin-Ternbach Museum

Year of India's film series culminates with a lecture by Anupama Kapse, assistant professor in QC's Department of Media Studies, who discusses how the theme of suffering was expressed in Indian cinema through specific clothing and gestures. She also explores the ways Indian film contends with Gandhi's legacy, and the tensions between his beliefs and the lure of fashion.